amazing team

My team often amazes me.

We love our dress down look. But when we discussed it a month or more ago, most agreed that it would be better for our worship community if we dressed up just a it more, most rapidly agreed that it would be good. And they are doing it.

This morning we discussed having paid staff show up for all weekend services each weekend. Again, I was surprised that almost everyone agreed that it should be so, and several volunteered on the spot to make it happen for themselves. And a couple of full time volunteers who show up for 5 services each week, wrote to say that they don't mind so much that they work harder than paid staff!

I love these guys. God, I sure would like to see your most incredible blessings on them. Thank you for each of them.

of Policies

So when I read the recent book on Integrity in Ministry, it had unintended consequences. Like, I repented to God for not being better about the role of bringing correction.

I hate confrontation, and more as I get older and have done it more.

But it is needed for health in a church. And I am working on it.

In that vein, I am considering some new policies for team members. I dislike policies and even more dislike rules. Julie tells me that I am a person who has a high need from freedom, and she may be right. Especially in the area of rules.

But some personalities are much comforted by rules, and love policies in general, even if I do not tend to do so.

So I can see that policies concerning office hours, attire, and even attendance of services, would help some.

My most recent consideration has to do with asking staff to be in all three weekend services. As a staff run church, perhaps it is time to require it. Sam Masteller mentioned today that the Wave church requires staff to be in all SEVEN! They have services all over the weekend map, and are growing rapidly, so there is something being done right. Perhaps that kind of excellence that would come from more staff involvement, would help with it.

We seem to spend more time (usually led by me) explaining why our services are not growing, than figuring out how to get more people in those services where there is plenty of room. I am re-committing myself to figuring out how to get these services filled, even while making more room for more people in the big 11:15 am service, which is often uncomfortably full.

Of course, it would also make life a lot more difficult for some staff to require them to come to more services. I dread that. Perhaps even some of these precious people would need to step aside or find a more convenient job. That would smart, a lot.

Decisions, decisions.

Sunday night dead

Saturday night live is nothing like Sunday night dead. 

That is, I know of very little that feels better than a Sunday night after I got to lay it all out there for a full weekend of ministry to people. 

Like one of those weekends where I got to lead in a salvation prayer, cast out demons, pray peace and comfort on people, speak the heart of God (and learn from it even while it comes out of my own mouth!) see people get filled with the Holy Spirit, watch healings happen, and see people go deeper with God in a small group experience. And see old relationships restored that seemed hopelessly broken.

I just had a weekend like that. Thank you Jesus. I am dead tired, but feel way too thankful to sleep any time soon. I feel like I need to stay awake just to feel it a little longer.

And while I am at it, I have rarely in my life felt such a prophetic and pwoerful move of God like what I feel begin to rumble under my feet right now. There is a sense of God at work around me  in ways that I can hardly take in.

God is up to something here. I feel it, I sense it, I prophetically call it in.

following Jesus to... well just follow

On our journey into the Top Seven belief's of the Bible, we are about to take a serious plunge into a the wildest, craziest part yet.

Interesting that in John 14, as Jesus begins to talk about it, he keeps saying "trust me". It almost sounds ominous, like there is going to be something following that we may or may not like.

"Don't let your hearts be troubled", is an interesting start! 

But he doesn't stop there! "Believe in me" .  You just KNOW it's gonna be tough when a leader got to lead with that.

The thing is, I have discovered that a LOT of people want a ramped up personality. We want to be that person that is always the life if the party, or at least "on" when we need to be. Personally, I want to be "pastoral" all the time, where I am so full of Jesus that I am hugging people, offering everyone an encouraging word, and basically so full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control, that anyone can saunter by and get some of what they need off of me.

To be that person, I have to get (and stay) full of the Spirit of God. I get to follow Jesus, and trust Him on where He takes me.  There is more potential in me if I don't always have to figure out where I am going, because I am following someobody who knows where He is going! I get a personal mentor, and encouragement to take a deep breath and relax.

Being that person means I have to unlearn a lot of coping skills, habits, and ideas I picked up from those whose minds are smaller than the Jesus I am following. I have to embrace a new personality and let it be formed in me. I like the journey, but frequently I need to remember his words about "trust me", and "just follow".

Good stuff.

people I used to Pastor...

It often happens at weddings and funerals, and I probably need to get a better way to handle it.

Those kinds of gatherings seem to..well.. gather, an unusual group of people. Among them many times, are people who once attended Freedom Valley and don't any longer. Sometimes it is an amazingly painful experience to remember what happened to disconnect them.

Omar once told me that I probably look back to much. This would probably be one of the times he would repeat that again. And he is probably right.

But recently Father, you have been gracing my life with an amazing amount of those people coming back into it. In the past two weeks I have had healing conversations with Laurel Roth, Jim Wardrop, Joshua Heckert, Cindy Lowe and so many more, all who once were close, but left a lot of pain behind when they disconnected.

It means so much to me to have any healing in those past situations.

Sometimes at those funerals or weddings, I get this urge to stop the proceedings and try one more time to explain myself, and make it all better. I'm sure it wouldn't (make it all better), but it is tempting nevertheless.

I was spending time with my three closest advisors recently, and mused out loud about how I am sometimes concerned with how hard my heart could get if I let the pain in. I never want to become someone who stops believing in people, stops giving grace freely, or stops trying again with them.

God help me keep giving grace as freely as I keep getting it. And thanks for bringing some of them back again. Forgive me if I get greedy and want it all healed from the years of pastoring and living.

over whelmed

This afternoon we spent some time exploring the future at Freedom Valley. Some things are becoming clear. To keep reaching people, we need more space. To keep planting churches, we need to keep raising up leaders, training and releasing teams, and providing finances for start-ups of those churches.

The path forward feels daunting tonight.

a new church is under way!

I was teaching leadership last week our of Luke 10, when suddenly the Holy Spirit began teaching me again.

The harvest is plentiful, therefore ask the Lord of the harvest. It was like I saw it again for the first time. It seems that The Lord of the Harvest is especially speaking to me about seeking Him for the harvest- especially for workers to work in the harvest field!

I want to explore this a lot further. I need God to teach me a lot more about seeing the harvest, asking Him to help me harvest, and how to send out workers into the harvest field.

And I am rejoicing over harvest coming in. Some of the kinds of exiting harvest:

1. Connection Pointe church launched yesterday. More than 90 people answered 15,000 flyers in a Tampa suburb and our newest church pant was born. We are very excited to have a small role in this one, and believing God for all the best. Steve and Tracy Wulf have planted before and done well, but this one feels like it is going to a whole new level!

2. Gettysburg Master's Commission is off and running again! I love it when our building fills up with these exciting, passionate, hard working leaders-in-the-making. 8 first year students, and 6? second year students are back. I look forward to seeing some of our best leaders ever emerge from this group.

3. Freedom Christian School is growing and off to another great year!

4. Shining Stars just finished a great year, with an extremely well done year-ending-event involving many other ministries to the handicapped, community groups, and time spent encouraging our precious kids.